POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A woman who was driving without a license when she struck and killed a girl is in the country illegally, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Micaela Coronel, 25, is from Argentina but had been staying in Kissimmee, according to law enforcement.
She was driving a minivan and taking her children to school Wednesday when she fatally hit 13-year-old Mariana Perez Borroto around 7:50 a.m. in the Poinciana/Kissimmee area, Judd said.
Borroto was riding her bike to school.
Authorities say roughly 80 percent of Coronel's windshield was covered in condensation at the time of the crash, obstructing her view.
Thursday, Judd said it was a "sad event that should have never happened."
He said Coronel was in the U.S. illegally on an expired work visa. Immigration officials placed a hold on her.
Coronel has been charged with a felony count of operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license causing death
Judd said she would face a maximum of five years in prison, and after completing her sentence, ICE officials will take custody of her to begin deportation proceedings.
He said Coronel's husband is in the country legally.
Judd said the case "frustrates" him because the girl would still be alive if Coronel had been in Argentina, if she had not been driving without a license, or if she had cleared the windshield.
"There is no excuse," he said.
The investigation is continuing, Judd said.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Borroto's funeral expenses.
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